Mechanics of Engineering Materials

Engineered components must withstand various external forces during normal usage.  An example of a simple component is the chair, which must bear the weight of the person sitting on it without breaking or undergoing significant deformation.  An engineer needs to be able to evaluate the forces that are applied to the component and to further determine the mechanical behaviour of the component in response to the applied forces.  

This module provides students with the ability to mathematically analyse simple components in static equilibrium (i.e. not in motion) under different modes of loading.  The module consists of lectures where concepts and examples will be presented and tutorials where students can pose questions from their own study.  In addition, students will also complete various assignments that are intended to strengthen their grasp of knowledge learnt in lectures and tutorials.  

The topics covered in this module include:

• Basic concepts of force, stress, strain and mechanical properties of materials
• Static equilibrium – free body diagram
• Equations of equilibrium relating external and internal forces
• Centroids and moment of inertia of cross-sections
• Equations describing geometry of deformation or displacements / compatibility
• Relationship between applied force and deformation of material i.e. stress-strain relationship
• Combining equations of equilibrium, stress-strain relationships and compatibility to calculate stress and strain conditions in bodies
• Shear force, bending moment and stresses in bending of beams
• Torque and stress in torsion of circular section